Have you ever tried on an outfit, LOVED it right away…thought you looked smokin’ in it only to take a photo of yourself wearing it and ask yourself what went wrong?
Yep.
What is that about?
I don’t have trick mirrors in my house, which is what I swear some stores have.
Now that I shop almost exclusively thrift often those mirrors look like they may have been ripped right out of a circus. I look all warped and bendy like Gumby on a bad day.
My gut feeling is what I need to rely on rather than my reflection in the mirror at those thrift shops.
I almost always come home and try on the piece again just to be sure I’m happy with it before removing the tags. I did that with this skirt and loved it, so off came the tags, which again leads me to ask,
“Is my mind tricking me? Or is the camera lying?”
When I chose this chocolate brown suede skirt I was attracted to the extra details with the contrasting stitching and front pleat. It fit me perfectly and I thought it accented my positives, until I saw photos and realized that it turned me into a rectangle with an arrow pointing just below my crotch at the slit in the skirt. Let’s be clear about that last bit.
All is fine when I’m sitting.
With all that pattern and colour on top I thought that the eyes wouldn’t be distracted by the top stitching…but my eyes go straight there.
The fact that there isn’t a waist band isn’t doing me any favours.
It’s not as high waisted as I normally wear and the hem sits right at my knees. I thought that was supposed to flatter the legs, not fatter the legs.
It’s the skirt. It’s not me.
That’s the difference between picking a winner that makes you feel great about yourself and picking a loser that makes you want to hide under a rock.
As a woman over a certain age that wants to remain visible there will be no hiding under rocks for me.
I only saved one photo of me standing with the skirt on after I saw the photos.
Everything else was, “Delete, Delete, Delete” while swearing under my breath.
My pug told me she can’t see the difference and for a mere handful of treats she’ll tell me anything I want to hear. How much do I love my pug?
There are three possible solutions for this skirt.
- Sell the skirt so someone else can have an arrow pointing like a roadmap to their neither regions. Maybe it’ll suit them.
2. Try darkening the stitching with a felt pen.
3. Simply remove the stitches hoping that they won’t leave holes in the leather.
I think solution #3 is out. I’m pretty sure there will be visible holes in the leather. The felt pen idea could work, but do I really want to risk it?
I haven’t decided what to do yet.
I’m leaning towards selling it.
Have you had instances like this when you were sure you’d made a great choice on a clothing purchase only to realize later it was a mistake?
Did you get rid of it immediately?
Linking up with Visible Monday, I Will Wear What I Like, Shoe and Tell, Turning Heads Tuesdays,
Have you tried it with a lower boot? I’m thinking more of a shoeties style. ..? I often feel that a boot with a larger opening at the ankle makes my legs look thinner…
How about shortening the skirt?
I also think your idea of using a permanent marker is great! But… do the marker in green or turquoise or fuschia!
Or…sell the skirt =(
Like Marilee, I’m wondering if shortening the skirt or wearing a lower boot or shoe might help lengthen the look of your legs? I honestly would never have thought of the “arrow pointing to your nether regions” had you not mentioned it but now that I see it, I can’t not see it. Would it be possible to do with this skirt what you did with your tweed jacket and add some artistic flair like bling or embroidery to take away from the arrow?
One final idea: Zoe certainly makes a good distraction. Perhaps just take her everywhere you go when you wear the skirt? 😉
And, yes, I *have* had that happen where I try something on in the store or at home, then get in front of the camera and scream the scream of a thousand hellhounds when I see the photos. It’s surprising to me how often I have gone out in an outfit I think looks fabulous, only to see it on camera and–YIKES. So, I feel your pain.
I’ll be curious to hear what you decide!!
– Sherry
http://www.petiteover40.com
Hi Sherry, this Marilee. I just had to pop in and say ; you are hilarious!!! I particularly loved your comment about using Zoe as a distraction.
Clearly I need to check out your blog!!
Hi Marilee, Now I’m all blushy! But thank you! And I’d love to see you over at my blog. I’ll try to be funnier there. 🙂 Suzanne and Zoe have a way of loosening up my funny bone.
I need to be prepared to wear a constant coat of pug hair on top of whatever else I’m wearing if I take her along as a distraction. Especially at this time of the year. She seems to shed her weight in fur daily. It’s a wonder she isn’t bald.
Suzanne, you have a freakishly low crotch. Hahaha. It’s not even pointing there – it’s pointing to midway on your thighs. But if you think your crotch extends that far down, who am I to argue? Hahaha!! Of course we are never rational about these things – we feel what we feel.
You could emphasize the arrow and make it a REAL statement skirt. Heh. Or you could add more arrows pointing to other areas as distraction. If you shorten the arrow (with Sharpie camouflage) it would make your legs look longer but it might also end up pointing at your real crotch. Any outfit that forces multiple Delete action, however, is perhaps not worthy of our closets. Sell it.
Those store mirrors always make me look better than the real ones I have at home. How do I warp a mirror – you should do a post on that.
You know how it goes…the crotch lowers with age!
Is there a cream or serum for that?
Ha ha! There is surgery…
I rarely laugh out load at comments but this one brought on huge guffaws. Thank you Melanie! !!
I thought the skirt looked lovely on you and accentuated your ‘hour glass’ figure. I don’t see the arrow as pointing to your nether regions and I still don’t. I think long boots or shoes might change the look of the skirt.
It’s only since I started blogging (just over a year ago) and taking photos of my outfits that I have been able to take a more objective view of my clothes/outfits and how they look on me. It’s been a bit of an eye opener! I’ve learned what suits my body shape and what doesn’t, what colours suit me and which are just meh on me. I don’t always try garments on – I know I should – and once or twice I’ve bought things that I’ve just discarded as they looked awful on. I just put it all down to experience…
Veronica
vronni60s.blogspot.com
Hi just turn the skirt around and wear it backwards no one will ever know.
Ha! That’s a very bizarre bit of stitching! The skirt fits you fabulously. I like the idea of colouring in the thread or, alternatively, painting on some fake stitching from the hem to meet the existing stitching so it’s more of a feature.
I hate that, wearing something out, feeling fabulous and then taking a photo and being completely disillusioned. My Mum never owned a full length mirror, she wanted to believe she looked as fabulous as she felt and didn’t need some lying bit of glass trying to tell herself otherwise.
We all need a feel good pug! xxx
I think it would look more fabulous shortened a few inches. And I wasn’t thinking nether regions when I saw the arrow, but now I can’t not-see it. I am a lazy toadstool and I would sell or donate it (you have a cool shop so sell). There are a billion skirts out there that you will love IRL and in your pics (maybe a million, but close enough). Always have a pug nearby to shower your love on. xox
Patti
http://notdeadyetstyle.com
I agree…heck it’s not like I don’t have another 2 or 3 brown suede skirts that I can wear with this! I can do better for sure.
The mirror vs. camera conundrum is so real! I usually shed a few tears and let the item go if I find that it’s just not working. Because if I can’t blog about my outfit, what’s the point? lol
Besides the poorly placed arrow *ahem* the rest of your outfit is divine. I love the fresh color combo of brown + pink!
Hannah | The Outfit Repeater
First—this seems to happen to me all the time. Not so much that one piece looks strange, but I’ll put together an outfit in the mirror and love it. Then I look at the photos and think, “really?”
How about sewing some buttons on the front? You could even sew them all the way down instead of stopping at the arrow??
But it’s a great skirt—especially with my fave boots you’re wearing!!
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I know what you mean. My experience has been that hanging on to such a piece with false hope it will improve is futile. Let the skirt go. Or accept having airplane-runway directions to your vajayjay.
P.S., Love your poses while sitting. I need to learn how to do that.
Airplane runway is a perfect description! Ha ha!
Thanks, Suzanne, you made me smile and chuckle – arrows pointing to… xx
Thanks for this post! It’s hard to determine how well something looks without a 3-way mirror and most stores don’t have these. Because the same thing has happened to me, I now take a photo of myself in the dressing room or will ask someone to take one of me, so that I can objectively tell how something actually looks.
Now that I’m of a certain age, I will not keep something in my closet if I feel it doesn’t look right on me and can’t be altered by my tailor to fit correctly. I’ve learned from experience that I just won’t wear it and it may suit someone else better.
http://www.beastofstyle.com
It is so true that having someone take photos of you can help make up your mind when you are unsure. I’ve done this before as well.
oh yes, I’ve felt disappointed by an outfit when I’ve taken a picture of it and thought that my mirror was a tricky b*st*rd. Sadly, there’s not a pug around me to distract people when that happens!
My favorite tip when a skirt/dress doesn’t work on me, it’s to shorten it!. I’m a huge fan of mini skirts, but I know they’re not everybody’s cup of tea. The second tip is to change my footwear, as it usually changes proportions dramatically. But that stitching can’t be hidden easily, and adding more details to your skirt would be risky, so that’s a big issue!
(those comments are putting a smile on my face for the whole day!)
besos
Ha ha! Yes…you need to get yourself a cute pug to accessorize every outfit. Even if she isn’t there every time her pug hair manages to find its way onto every single items of clothing I own…you know…as a stand in lieu of her absence. ; P
Oh my, I see what you mean!! And now can’t unsee it. Hmm, I think Patti is right – donate/sell and move on. I think the perfect brown skirt for you is out there somewhere, and it’s not like it’s a very rare item that you’d never find another one, if you see what I mean? Taking blog photos does lead to wardrobe culls for me. It might be something nobody else notices, but I do, and that’s what matters, how I feel in something. x
Maybe it’s the mirror. maybe not. We all have those moments, I call them temporary mental disorders. And because they’re temporary, there’s nothing to worry about. Provided you get rid of the evidence (a.k.a.’the skirt’). And no, you don’t need arrows pointing to your nether regions. Whoever needs to find the region in question should know how to get there without needing road signs…
Keep the blouse, that one is cute.
Ha ha! Yep : P
I genuinely hadn’t noticed the crotch thing until you said… and then like Porcelina I couldn’t un-see it! I think the no waistband thing I find weirder – in the photos it sort of looks like they forgot to add a bit of the skirt on in production… I’d probably donate/sell and forget about it!
ALL the time! I’ll blame it on the camera…
Mary
http://www.marymurnane.com
Yeah, I think you should let it go. Shortening, or colouring in the stitching may only ruin the skirt and I believe there is someone out there who will be thrilled to have a double dotted line down the front of their skirt. As you said in response to an earlier comment, it’s not like you don’t have other, more flattering suede skirts.
Am I the only one that likes the stitching???
Hmmmm.
I’m not sorry! :oP
It looks like a great fit and the stitching gives it a luxe feel.
The only thing I would change would be to go tone-on-tone with some brown suede boots…. Or maybe some REALLY long sexy ones??
The skirt is a real vintage beauty, and I think that the pattern draws the eye in…it’s not a bad thing.
A lot of suede skirts have no waistband…is that a 70’s trend? I’m not sure.
I know it was very popular in the 90’s.
That look was great before I had huge babies and my flat tummy packed it’s bags and my “crinkly belly” took up residence (my youngest daughter’s words. She is spot on!)
Anyway, I like it and think you can make it work.
I hope to see it again.
XXX
Samantha
I think you are alone in your love of the stitching…although that is what attracted me to it in the first place.
For someone that doesn’t have a flat belly you sure manage to hide it well.
Oh Suzanne!
I am not sure i would have noticed, but after you pointed it out- I see what you are saying. I think i would try brown marker, the skirt is lovely and i love the blouse and dotted bow! Fab boots too!
could you wear it on the side? I guess no?
xx, Elle
http://www.theellediaries.com/blog/
Happens to me all the time. I’m forever photographing an outfit and deciding I hate it. Sometimes it’s probably my lack of photography skills, but I’m also guilty of buying things without trying them on. Not a good habit.
I think it’s the boots!
Nobody has his or her crotch at the end of these lines. You are seeing things. I agree with Stylentonic: it’s the boots. The waist is fine and makes you look so slim. The blouse with that different patterned bow is great. Nothing wrong with this outfit. I would just change the boots. They are fine underneath trousers but for underneath skirts..
Greetje
Here’s the thing…do you love it enough to do all the tweaking that may or may not be required? I didn’t notice the crotch arrow until you pointed it out, but seriously, is your torso so long that your crotch is actually closer to your knees than your hips? Lol! In any case, perhaps it’s the height of the boots. Maybe go taller or shorter?
Debbie
http://www.fashionfairydust.com
I honestly wouldnt have thought of it as an arrow until it was mentioned. I still like the skirt on you. I suppose it matters most if you like it! I LOVE your blouse, brown and pink is a fab combination and I love the pattern.
I think Zoe approves!
Thanks for linking with Turning heads tuesday
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Suzanne, I’m thinking it’s the boots that are most eye catching. I’d be going with knee highs first of all to see if it improves things. And yes, you can’t unsee something so maybe just sell it if it’s making no sense to you. Very annoying though. Changing rooms in thrift shops aren’t ever going to give you a good viewpoint and so we do tend to go with how it feels. Trust your gut with this regardless of what we all say.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year x
Anna
http://www.annasislandstyle.com